Bristol Karate Academy

The Worcester University Arena was once again the venue for the Central England Open Championships on Sunday 9^th July. With 855 karateka, 1,346 entries and 10 tatamis running all day, this is one of the bigger tournaments on the EKF circuit. With a small Academy squad in attendance in was fantastic to bring home four medals!

First to make it to the rostrum were Benjamin and Luke, who took home bronze medals in the Under 9s Pairs Kata. This was their first time competing as a pair, and with the progress they’ve made in a relatively short amount of time, we sincerely hope that it won’t be their last!

Four of our members were representing our federation, JKS England, at the tournament. This included Liam, who brought home his first EKF-level kata medal since joining the squad, in the 13-15 years Male Kata event. This was a hotly contested category, with Liam having to perform at his absolute best to medal. And he did just that, with strong performances including Gankaku and also Sochin, which he performed competitively for only the second time.

Our last two medals came in the same event, as Tim Griffiths and Dan Salter once again found themselves in opposite sides of the +40 Male kata event. With both making it through to the final, the pair of Academy instructors each performed Gojushiho Dai for the win, with Tim edging the result.

As well as being proud of our medallists, we were equally impressed by the huge performance improvements by all of our competitors. From ippons in kumite to exceptionally executed katas each Academy member truly stepped up on the day, with a number of people observing improvements from last year’s edition of the tournament.

Throughout the day, it was fantastic to see our competitors being cheered on from the stands by the members and family members that came along to watch the event. A big thanks for making the trip. We hope we did you proud. And finally, thank you to Kevin Mashford – Team Manager at the event – for supporting everyone both on and off the tatami.

Full squad: Brandon Bennett, Quaid Bennett, Taylor Gibney, Benjamin Griffiths, Tim Griffiths, Adnan Mahmud, Josh Mashford, Liam Mashford, Luke Mashford, Caroline Walton. Team Manager: Kevin Mashford.

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